Problem gambling clinic expands in Portland with $50,000 grant

A
$50,000 grant from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund will allow a
problem gambling clinic run by Lewis & Clark College to expand.Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian

Lewis & Clark College has received a $50,000 grant to expand its new
-- and rapidly growing -- free clinic for problem gamblers.

The
clinic opened earlier this year as the only one of its kind offering
weekend services. Counselors are on hand Saturdays and Sundays to help
people who need counseling on their gambling habits.

It
didn't take long for demand to outstrip the clinic's space and
schedule, said Boyd Pidcock, an associate professor at the Lewis &
Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling and co-director of the
clinic.

"We quickly realized we need to be there with an
expanded schedule to fully the needs of problem gamblers and their
significant others," Pidcock said. The clinic has begun seeing clients
on Mondays and Fridays as well as weekends.

Lewis & Clark Problem Gambling Services is located within the college's Community Counseling Center in a building on Southwest Barbur Boulevard owned by the
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. The tribes provided the
expansion grant through the Spirit Mountain Community Fund -- money that
comes from profits at the tribal casino.

The money will allow
the clinic to
double its space, Pidcock said. With it, the clinic will add five
therapy rooms, two group therapy classrooms, a waiting area and a
student workspace, according to the grant application.

Pidcock said the expanded clinic would be open for business by January, and perhaps as soon as November.

Gambling addiction affects an estimated 81,000 Oregonians, research shows. Only a small percentage seek treatment, however.

"It's tough to get them to come in," Pidcock said. The bigger clinic also will allow for an expanded outreach program, he said.